Classical
Form was most important, clear-cut structure, form was outcome of material from which it was composed.
Romantic
Expressive Content, emotion from harmony, sudden dramatic gesture, etc. Form is entity in itself. Arts became interconnected. Artsong: Solo voice and piano, extension of word painting.
Gesamtkunstwerk
What Wagner called his operas. Totally integrated work. Music Dramas. Alliance between music and literature.
Wagner Operas
Liked composing on large scale; big ego Composed operas where he was in charge of every detail, and every detail related to every other one. For example, orchestral motif based upon character interests. They were really long. Wrote series of operas based on Norse tales, called The Ring.
Franz Schubert small scale works
Started German Lieder (means song)
19th C Public Concerts
Performers and artists that would create superstar images of themselves. Lizst, Paganini.
Nicolo Paganini
Could play violin faster than anyone else. Seemed impossible. Publicist said Paganini made pact w/ devil to get his speed, and Paganini would play wearing a black cape to “back up” the story.
Romantic Traits
Symphony became longer, Concerto became vehicle for virtuosity, Chamber music becomes big – Chamber groups play in concert halls now, Piano moves to small-genre music, Opera deals w/ great, big issues, New form is art-song – solo voice and piano
Program Music
: Instrumental music with story. Audience would get sheet describing story. Hector Berlioz goes to England and sees performance of Romeo and Juliet. Falls in love w/ Juliet actress, but there was an English/French language barrier. Proposes to her, she says maybe later, he writes a really weird piece about an opium addict and a witch to profess his love.
Brahms musical style
Similar to Beethoven, Viennese. Related his themes like Beethoven.
Brahms Background
Father was double bass player, Musical Training started at 7, Eventually would support himself with composing, Met Liszt, Schumanns. Wrote Opera. Wrote music for music’s sake. Slow, methodical. Connected to Beethoven’s and Haydn’s styles. Most famous choral work was called Requiem. 7 parts, chose own Bible verses. Wrote four symphonies.
Symphony #1 in C Minor, Brahms
Took 20+ years to, Called “Beethoven’s 10th”
Tchaikovsky Background
Born 1840,Tortuous private life (gay), First symphony at 26 (winter’s daydream),  At 27, tried to join “the five” (Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Cui, Balakirev), trying to show off Russian music. In the end, turned them down.,  3 days after premier of 6th symphony, he dies of arsenic poisoning.
Tchaikovsky Music
featured emotional themes ex. Romeo and Juliet have their own theme, all in sonata form. Uses Russian folk tunes a lot, but didn’t want to join Russian nationalism. Ballet Stories: Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty. Quickly goes from one story to another.
Tosca
Giacomo Puccini. Vissi d’arte – I live my life for art. Artist is falsely imprisoned. Woman tries to free him, but jailer says only way to get him out is to sleep w jailer.
Die Walkure
Richard Wagner. Ride of the Valkyries. Socialism, Nazism, Industrialization.
Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi. Based on novel. Intrigue, treachery, revenge @ court of French King. Sponsored by Italians to not piss off French. Changed to Italian setting
Carmen
Georges Bizet. Opera Comique – Spoken Dialogue. Carmen uses beauty to her advantage. Common girl, works in cigarette factory
Turandot
Puccini. Set in China. Princess set to wed but does not want to. In order to wed, suitors must solve three riddles. If get wrong answer, head chopped off. Calef falls in love, answers 3 riddles.
Calef’s Aria
Most famous aria ever. “She will not know my name, victory will be mine.”
Franz Schubert
Short life. Studied in Vienna under Salieri. Choir Director/Public School Teacher. Wrote over 600 Songs. Artsongs usually composed for short poetry.
Franz Schubert’s Song Cycle
Would string poetry together so it tells a story and set it to music. o Could be tightly connected poetry or poetry hardly connected at all.
Schumann
Friends with Brahms. Literary man and Music Man. Often had references to literature – epitomy of romanticism. Beautiful melodies – more harmonious than Schubert. Married former student who became Clara Schumann. 3 song-cycles.
Cecil Cohen
Born in Chicago.Fisk and Oberlin music conservatory. Then taught at Howard in DC. Had songs published in volumes called nEgro Art Songs. o 1904 Visit by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – well-known black English composer. One of England’s leading composers. Met w/ black composers in NYC and gave them lots of confidence. Death of an Old Seaman — Poem by Langston Hughes in Patterson’s anthology
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Leading English composer of 1st ? of 20thC. Operas, art songs, choral music.Songs of Travel – Based on collection of poems by RL Stevenson. The Vagabond — Young man on journey explains he doesn’t need human products.
Debussy
Most famous impressionist composer, Won Prix de Rome, Music based on ancient scales, far east,Wanted to avoid structure of Western music, wrote La Mer.
Impressionist painting and Music
Vagueness of Shape, subtlets of color, novelty of form.
La Mer (The Sea) — 3 mvmts.
1 – From Dawn to Midday on the Sea

2 – Play of the Waves (alternating rhythmic music)

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3 — Dialogue of the wind and the waves (Free form scherzo)

Maurice Ravel
Impressionist. Trained as pianist, sounds like Debussy. Ancient Modes. Lots of Repetition. Independently Wealthy Master at Orchestration.
Expressionist traits in Music
Instruments in exreme registers, destruction of harmony
Schonberg Biography
Germanic Composer, as were Haydn Mozart Beethoven and Brahms. IDea that music must unfold with knowledge. Self taught, lots of chamber music.
Verklate Nacht (Transfigured Night)
Schonberg. 1899. Written for String Sextet. Combines Prussian music with strings. caused scandal, too hard to play.
Pierrot Lunaire
Sprechstimme – Speaking and singing. Based on poem by Giraud. Atonal Harmony.
Serial Technique
Makes up tone cow, Piano Suite 1923, Less Influence over time…people like melodies.
Music Concrete
Oscillating Boxes, overdub tracks, invention of magnetic tape.
Aaron Copland
Nadia Bulongor – Copland was her first student. Goes to jazzy piano concert.Becomes interested in jazz in paris. Does film scores for of mice and men, quiet city, red pony (embracing technology and changing types of music). wanted to establish “American Music Tradition”
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Composer and Poet — 1943 wrote Oklahoma. First attempt in american musicals to combine music,dance, choreography. Laurie’s Dream Sequence – all dance, no speech/song
West side Story
Leonard Bernstein libretto by Stephen Sondheim choreography by Jerome Robbins. Romeo and Juliet in 1950’s NYC (Puerto Ricans v. Americans). Opera Comique because spoken language.
Most important English composer in middle part of 20th C. Famous for songs, operas, and War Requiem. War requiem was for reconciliation after WWII (sources were requiem mass and WWI poetry of Wilfred Owen). Also wrote Serenade – Collection of poems (song cycle where all songs had to do with the night)